Triboelectric generators can power touchscreens by touch

Imagine a future where smartphones and tablets have awesome battery life without the addition of a larger, and bulkier battery. Well, it looks like we’re moving one step towards that dream. The researchers at Georgia Tech recently revealed a triboelectric generator that creates energy when specific plastic materials rub against one another.

While I won’t go into the technical details (you can check out GT’s website for them), this technology can be implemented into touchscreens since there are transparent plastics that can be used to create triboelectric generators. This means that every time you use the touchscreen on your tablet/smartphone, you can generate electricity which can be used to power it – which means your device’s battery can be used for powering other internals (as we all know, displays are usually the biggest cause of battery drain).

No word on when we’ll see this technology being used in consumer electronics but we can’t wait.